Method, apparatus, and computer program product for privacy management

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for privacy management may include a processor. The processor may be configured to access one or more privacy options. In this regard, each privacy option may be configured to provide members of one or more groups access to content. The processor may also be configured to provide for selection of a privacy option in association with the content. Associated methods and computer program products may also be provided.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of application Ser. No.12/164,169, filed Jun. 30, 2008. The disclosure of the above applicationis hereby incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to management ofaccess to shared information and, more particularly, relate to anapparatus, method and a computer program product for privacy managementof shared information.

BACKGROUND

The modern communications era has brought about a tremendous expansionof wireline and wireless networks. Various types of networkingtechnologies have been developed resulting in unprecedented expansion ofcomputer networks, television networks, telephony networks, and thelike, fueled by consumer demand. Wireless and mobile networkingtechnologies have addressed related consumer demands, while providingmore flexibility and immediacy of information transfer.

Current and future networking technologies continue to facilitate easeof information transfer and convenience to users by expanding thecapabilities of mobile electronic devices and other computing devices.However, as the ease of information transfer increases, users continueto demand more and different types of data. Mobile devices, networks,personal computers, and other computing devices can now capture numeroustypes of information about users and their activities. Such informationmay include location information, phone call information (e.g., whatcontacts were called, duration of calls, what calls were received),status information (e.g., working, sleeping, watching a movie), mediainformation (e.g., recent photographs taken, music played), etc. Theavailability of this information is desirable to users, not only withrespect to information about themselves and their own activities, butalso with respect to their friends and business contacts.

Various services (e.g., online services) for sharing content in thisregard have been developed. These services often permit users of theservices to view or otherwise interact with the content shared by otherusers of the service. However, since any user of the service may viewany content shared by any other user, privacy concerns may develop. As aresult of these privacy concerns, users of the services may be hesitantor even refuse to share content on the service for fear of disclosingpersonal or otherwise sensitive information. While some services mayprovide various privacy mechanisms, difficulty in using many of thesemechanisms may also have an adverse effect on content sharing and asresult users may again be hesitant or refuse to share content.

BRIEF SUMMARY

A method, apparatus, and computer program product are described thatprovide for privacy management. Exemplary embodiments of the presentinvention may provide for privacy management by controlling privacy ofshared content on a group basis. In this regard, a group may be a userdefined group (e.g., family, co-workers, contacts in a contact list, orthe like), or a group defined by, for example, a social networkingwebsite. In some exemplary embodiments, a privacy level ordering of theprivacy options may be defined based at least in part on the membershipnumbers of the groups associated with the privacy options. In thisregard, groups with more members may be considered less private.

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention may access the definedprivacy options and allow a user to select a privacy option with respectto some or all shared content. In this regard, in some exemplaryembodiments, privacy options may be determined based at least in part onthe membership of the groups. As such, in some exemplary embodiments,each privacy option may provide for the inclusion of an additionalgroup. Upon selection of a privacy option, members of the groupsassociated with the privacy option may be granted access to theassociated shared content.

Some exemplary embodiments of the present invention implement a slidertool for selecting a privacy option. In this regard, the slider tool mayinclude a privacy line, where movement along the line indicates more orless privacy. Privacy options may be indicated on the line along withthe groups that have been associated with a respective to the privacyoption. The slider tool may include a movable slider which can beimplemented to select a privacy option.

Accordingly, in one exemplary embodiment, a method for privacymanagement is described. The method may include accessing one or moreprivacy options. In this regard, each privacy option may be configuredto provide members of one or more groups access to content. The methodmay also include providing for selection of a privacy option inassociation with the content.

In another exemplary embodiment, an apparatus for privacy management isdescribed. The apparatus may include a processor that may be configuredto define one or more privacy options. In this regard, each privacyoption may be configured to provide members of one or more groups accessto content. The processor may also be configured to provide forselection of a privacy option in association with the content.

In another exemplary embodiment, a computer program product forproviding service invitations is described. The computer program productmay include at least one computer-readable storage medium havingcomputer-readable program code instructions stored therein. Thecomputer-readable program code instructions may include first programcode instructions, and second program code instructions. The firstprogram code instructions may be configured to define one or moreprivacy options. In this regard, each privacy option may be configuredto provide members of one or more groups access to content. The secondprogram code instructions may be configured to provide for selection ofa privacy option in association with the content.

In yet another exemplary embodiment, an apparatus for privacy managementis described. The apparatus may include means for defining one or moreprivacy options. In this regard, each privacy option may be configuredto provide members of one or more groups access to content. Theapparatus may also include means for providing for selection of aprivacy option in association with the content.

Some exemplary embodiments of the invention may provide a method,apparatus, and computer program product for employment, for example, inmobile communications environments. As a result, in some exemplaryembodiments, information such as selections of privacy options orcontent associated with privacy options may be shared across mobileenvironments. Further, some embodiments of the present invention mayprovide for privacy management within an online service that allows forsynchronization between various platforms that a user may employ toaccess and interact with the online service.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)

Having thus described the invention in general terms, reference will nowbe made to the accompanying drawings, which are not necessarily drawn toscale, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a mobile terminal according to anexemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram showing an apparatus for privacymanagement with associated network connectivity according to anexemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary system of network entities for sharingvarious information including selections of privacy options according toexemplary embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary scenario for defining privacy optionsaccording to exemplary embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary user interface including a slider toolfor privacy management according to exemplary embodiments of the presentinvention; and

FIGS. 6 and 7 are flowcharts according to exemplary methods for privacymanagement according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described more fullyhereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which some,but not all embodiments of the invention are shown. Indeed, theinvention may be embodied in many different forms and should not beconstrued as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, theseembodiments are provided so that this disclosure will satisfy applicablelegal requirements. Like reference numerals refer to like elementsthroughout. As used herein, the terms “data,” “content,” “information,”and similar terms may be used interchangeably to refer to data capableof being transmitted, received, operated on, and/or stored in accordancewith embodiments of the present invention. Moreover, the term“exemplary,” as used herein, is not provided to convey any qualitativeassessment, but instead to merely convey an illustration of an example.

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a mobile terminal 10 that mayimplement and/or incorporate various aspects of exemplary embodiments ofthe present invention. In this regard, mobile terminal 10 may be a userplatform that may be utilized to perform privacy management. It shouldbe understood, however, that a mobile terminal embodied as a mobiletelephone as illustrated and hereinafter described is merelyillustrative of one type of mobile terminal that may implement exemplaryembodiments of the present invention and, therefore, should not be takento limit the scope of embodiments of the present invention. Whileseveral embodiments of the mobile terminal 10 are illustrated, and willbe hereinafter described for purposes of example, other types of mobileterminals, such as portable digital assistants (PDAs), pagers, mobiletelevisions, gaming devices, mobile computers, laptop computers,cameras, video recorders, audio/video player, radio, global positioningsystem (GPS) devices, any combination of the aforementioned, and/orother types of voice and text communications systems, can readily employembodiments of the present invention.

In addition, while several embodiments of the exemplary methods of thepresent invention may be performed or used by a mobile terminal 10, theexemplary methods may be employed by other than a mobile terminal (e.g.,apparatus 200). Moreover, some of the apparatuses and methods ofembodiments of the present invention will be described in conjunctionwith mobile communications applications. It should be understood,however, that the apparatuses and methods of embodiments of the presentinvention can be utilized in conjunction with a variety of otherapplications, both in the mobile communications industries and outsideof the mobile communications industries.

The mobile terminal 10 may include an antenna 12 (or multiple antennas)in operable communication with a transmitter 14 and a receiver 16. Themobile terminal 10 may further include an apparatus, such as acontroller 20 or other processor that provides signals to and receivessignals from the transmitter 14 and receiver 16, respectively. Thesignals may include, or be representative of, signaling information inaccordance with the air interface standard of the applicable cellularsystem, and also user speech, received data and/or user generated data.In this regard, the mobile terminal 10 may be capable of operating withone or more air interface standards, communication protocols, modulationtypes, and/or access types. By way of illustration, the mobile terminal10 may be capable of operating in accordance with any of a number offirst, second, third and/or fourth-generation communication protocols orthe like. For example, the mobile terminal 10 may be capable ofoperating in accordance with second-generation (2G) wirelesscommunication protocols IS-136 (time division multiple access (TDMA)),GSM (global system for mobile communication), and IS-95 (code divisionmultiple access (CDMA)), or with third-generation (3G) wirelesscommunication protocols, such as Universal Mobile TelecommunicationsSystem (UMTS), CDMA2000, wideband CDMA (WCDMA) and timedivision-synchronous CDMA (TD-SCDMA), with 3.9 generation (3.9G)wireless communication protocols, such as Evolved Universal TerrestrialRadio Access Network (E-UTRAN), with fourth-generation (4G) wirelesscommunication protocols, Long Term Evolution (LTE) protocols, or thelike.

As an alternative (or additionally), the mobile terminal 10 may becapable of operating in accordance with non-cellular communicationmechanisms. For example, the mobile terminal 10 may be capable ofcommunication in a wireless local area network (WLAN), or othercommunication networks. Further, the mobile terminal 10 may communicatein accordance with techniques such as, for example, radio frequency(RF), infrared (IrDA) or any of a number of different wirelessnetworking techniques, including WLAN techniques such as IEEE 802.11(e.g., 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, etc.), world interoperabilityfor microwave access (WiMAX) techniques such as IEEE 802.16, and/orwireless Personal Area Network (WPAN) techniques such as IEEE 802.15,BlueTooth (BT), ultra wideband (UWB) and/or the like.

It is understood that the apparatus, such as the controller 20, mayinclude circuitry desirable for implementing audio and logic functionsof the mobile terminal 10. For example, the controller 20 may becomprised of a digital signal processor device, a microprocessor device,various analog to digital converters, digital to analog converters,and/or other support circuits. Control and signal processing functionsof the mobile terminal 10 may be allocated between these devicesaccording to their respective capabilities. Thus, the controller 20 mayalso include the functionality to encode and interleave messages anddata prior to modulation and transmission. The controller 20 canadditionally include an internal voice coder, and may include aninternal data modem. Further, the controller 20 may includefunctionality to operate one or more software programs, which may bestored in memory. For example, the controller 20 may be capable ofoperating a connectivity program, such as a web browser. Theconnectivity program may then allow the mobile terminal 10 to transmitand receive web content, such as content including web page content,according to a Wireless Application Protocol (WAP), Hypertext TransferProtocol (HTTP) and/or the like, for example.

The mobile terminal 10 may also comprise a user interface that mayinclude an output device such as a earphone or speaker 24, a microphone26, a display 28, and/or a user input interface, all of which may becoupled to the controller 20. The user input interface, which may allowthe mobile terminal 10 to receive data, may include any of a number ofdevices for allowing the mobile terminal 10 to receive data, such as akeypad 30, a touch display (not shown) or other input device. Inembodiments including the keypad 30, the keypad 30 may include thenumeric (0-9) and related keys (#, *), and/or other hard and soft keysused for operating the mobile terminal 10. Alternatively, the keypad 30may include a QWERTY keypad arrangement. The keypad 30 may also includevarious soft keys with associated functions. In addition, oralternatively, the mobile terminal 10 may include an interface devicesuch as a joystick or other user input interface. The mobile terminal 10may further include a battery 34, such as a rechargeable battery and/ora vibrating battery pack, for powering various circuits that arerequired to operate the mobile terminal 10, as well as, optionallyproviding mechanical vibration as a detectable output.

The mobile terminal 10 may further include a user identity module (UIM)38. The UIM 38 may be a memory device having a processor built in. TheUIM 38 may include, for example, a subscriber identity module (SIM), auniversal integrated circuit card (UICC), a universal subscriberidentity module (USIM), a removable user identity module (R-UIM), etc.The UIM 38 may store information elements related to a mobilesubscriber.

In addition to the UIM 38, the mobile terminal 10 may be equipped withmemory. The mobile terminal 10 may include volatile memory 40 and/ornon-volatile memory 42. For example, volatile memory 40 may includeRandom Access Memory (RAM) including dynamic and/or static RAM, on-chipor off-chip cache memory, and/or the like. Non-volatile memory 42, whichmay be embedded and/or removable, may include, for example, read-onlymemory, flash memory, magnetic storage devices (e.g., hard disks, floppydisk drives, magnetic tape, etc.), optical disc drives and/or media,non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM), and/or the like. Likevolatile memory 40, non-volatile memory 42 may include a cache area fortemporary storage of data. The memories can store any of a number ofpieces of information, and data, used by the mobile terminal 10 toimplement the functions of the mobile terminal 10. For example, thememories may include an identifier, such as an international mobileequipment identification (IMEI) code, capable of uniquely identifyingthe mobile terminal 10. Furthermore, the memories may store instructionsfor determining cell id information. Specifically, the memories maystore an application program for execution by the controller 20, whichmay determine an identity of the current cell, e.g., cell id identity orcell id information, with which the mobile terminal 10 is incommunication.

Referring now to FIG. 2, another exemplary apparatus 200 that may employprivacy management is described. Apparatus 200 may be embodied as aserver or other network device including, for example, a mobileterminal, such as mobile terminal 10 of FIG. 1, another user platform,such as a computer, or the like. In some exemplary embodiments,apparatus 200 may be embodied as a server of an online service. Inembodiments where the apparatus 200 is embodied as a server of an onlineservice, the apparatus 200, and the processor 205, may be configured toperform the functions associated with an online service as describedherein, such as the online service 240 or the service 300.

The apparatus 200 may include or otherwise be in communication with aprocessor 205, a user interface 215, a communication interface 220, anda memory device 210. The memory device 210 may include, for example,volatile and/or non-volatile memory (e.g., volatile memory 40 and/ornon-volatile memory 42). The memory device 210 may be configured tostore information, data, applications, instructions, or the like forenabling the apparatus to carry out various functions in accordance withexemplary embodiments of the present invention. For example, the memorydevice 210 could be configured to buffer input data for processing bythe processor 205. Additionally, or alternatively, the memory device 210could be configured to store instructions for execution by the processor205. As yet another alternative, the memory device 210 may be one of aplurality of databases that store information in the form of staticand/or dynamic information, for example, in association with privacyoptions, selections of privacy options, membership lists for groups, orthe like.

The processor 205 may be embodied in a number of different ways. Forexample, the processor 205 may be embodied as various means including amicroprocessor, a coprocessor, a controller (e.g., controller 20 fromFIG. 1), or various other processing devices including integratedcircuits such as, for example, an ASIC (application specific integratedcircuit), FPGA (field programmable gate array), or a hardwareaccelerator. In an exemplary embodiment, the processor 205 may beconfigured to execute instructions stored in the memory device 210 orotherwise accessible to the processor 205.

The user interface 215 may be in communication with the processor 205 toreceive an indication of a user input at the user interface 215 and/orto provide an audible, visual, mechanical, or other output to the user.As such, the user interface 215 may include, for example, a keyboard, amouse, a joystick, a display, such as a touch screen display, amicrophone, a speaker, and/or other input/output mechanisms. In anexemplary embodiment in which the apparatus 200 is embodied as a server,the user interface 215 may be limited, or even eliminated.

The communication interface 220 may be embodied as any device or meansembodied in either hardware, software, or a combination of hardware andsoftware that is configured to receive and/or transmit data from/to anetwork and/or any other device or module in communication with theapparatus 200. In this regard, the communication interface 220 mayinclude, for example, an antenna, a transmitter, a receiver, atransceiver and/or supporting hardware or software for enablingcommunications with network 225, which may be any type of wired orwireless network. Via the communication interface 220 and the network225, the apparatus 200 may communicate with the online service 240and/or the user platform 245.

The online service 240 may be any type of computing device for storing,retrieving, computing, transmitting, and receiving data. The onlineservice 240 may be embodied as a web server, file server, or the like,and may include a memory device, a processor, and a communicationinterface for communicating with the network 225. According to variousembodiments, the online service 240 may operate as a website that mayallow users of the website to share content. In some exemplaryembodiments, the online service may receive selections of privacyoptions from, for example, apparatus 200 or user platform 245, andprovide for privacy management.

The user platform 245 may also be any type of device for storing,retrieving, computing, transmitting, and receiving data. In someexemplary embodiments, user platform 245 may be embodied as a mobileterminal 10 of FIG. 1, a computer, other communications device or thelike. In some exemplary embodiments, user platform 245 may be merelyrepresentative of a plurality of user platforms, and as such any numberof user platforms may be connected to network 225. In some embodiments,via the user platform 245, a user may access an exemplary onlineservice, such as the online service 240, or an online service hosted bythe apparatus 200, using a browser, a dedicated application, or thelike.

The privacy option generator 230 and privacy option selector 232 ofapparatus 200 may be any means or device embodied in hardware, software,or a combination of hardware and software, such as processor 205operating under software control, that is configured to carry out thefunctions of privacy option generator 230 and privacy option selector232, respectively, as described herein. In an exemplary embodiment, theprocessor 205 may include, or otherwise control the privacy optiongenerator 230 and/or privacy option selector 232. In various exemplaryembodiments, the privacy option generator 230 and/or privacy optionselector 232 may reside on differing devices such that the functionalityof the privacy option generator 230 or privacy option selector 232, orsubsets of the functionality of the privacy option generator 230 orprivacy option selector 232, may be performed by a first device (e.g.,an online service, a mobile terminal, or the like), and privacy optiongenerator 230 or privacy option selector 232, or subsets of thefunctionality of the privacy option generator 230 or privacy optionselector 232, may be performed by a second device (e.g., a mobileterminal, an online service, or the like).

In some embodiments, the system of FIG. 2 may be utilized forsynchronization and/or sharing of content amongst the various networkplatforms. In this regard, the network platforms (e.g., the apparatus200, the user platform 245, the online service 240, etc.) may beutilized by a user to access content made available via the network 225.In some exemplary embodiments, the network entities may be used toaccess content associated with an online service account associatedwith, for example, the online service 240 and/or the apparatus 200.

Any type of content may be synchronized and/or shared amongst theplatforms and made available for access. Types of content that may besynchronized and/or shared may include, but should not be limited to,privacy options, selections of privacy options, membership lists andcontact/identification information of the members of various groups,status information, content, user profile information, files (e.g.,documents, photos, media content, etc.), contact information, or thelike. For example, privacy option selections may be accessed and/orsynchronized via the user platform 245, the online service 240, or theapparatus 200. Upon selecting and updating a privacy option or otherwisemodifying content, the new and/or modified content may be transmitted toa data storage device (e.g., the apparatus 200 or the online service240) or otherwise made available to the various network platforms forsubsequent access and/or further modification.

In this manner, content modified on one network platform may beavailable to another network platform. For example, the modified contentmay be automatically transmitted from the user platform 245 to theonline service 240 or the apparatus 200 for synchronization purposes. Assuch, a user may modify content on a first platform, (e.g., a mobileterminal), and then subsequently access the modified content on a secondplatform, (e.g., a browser or dedicated application on a computer).Moreover, the user may modify content and/or later access the modifiedcontent via, for example, user platform 245.

In some embodiments, a user may set synchronization parameters, whichmay identify types of content that should be synchronized and types ofcontent that need not be synchronized. For example, a user may set thesynchronization parameters to synchronize the selections of privacyoptions, but may also set the synchronization parameters such that auser profile information need not be synchronized.

In this regard, and referring now to FIG. 3, an embodiment of a systemin accordance with aspects of the present invention is illustrated. Thesystem of FIG. 3 may include a service 300, a client web browserapplication 310, an account management provider 320, a clientapplication 330, and a storage service 340. The service 300, the clientweb browser application 310, the account management provider 320, theclient application 330, and the storage service 340 may beinterconnected via the illustrated network, which may operate in thesame manner as network 225.

The service 300, the account management provider 320, and the storageservice 340 may collectively represent an exemplary embodiment of theapparatus 200 of FIG. 2. In this regard, the service 300 may employ aninternet or network service (e.g., a website, a social networkingwebsite, a blog website, a web feed, a widget, or the like) that mayreceive and interact with privacy options and selections of privacyoptions, other content, and/or the like in a manner described withrespect to the privacy option generator 230, privacy option selector232, and/or processor 205. Various types of content, such as, but notlimited to, selections of privacy options, may be synchronized withand/or otherwise transferred to and from, the service 300. The service300 may utilize the storage service 340 for storage and retrieval ofcontent by the service 300. In various embodiments, the service 300and/or storage service 340 may operate in the same manner as apparatus200 and the memory device 210 of apparatus 200 and/or the online service240.

Further, the account management provider 320 may operate together withthe various other network entities to perform account management andsecurity features. In some embodiments, login information and passwordsare first directed to the account management provider 320 forverification. Upon verification, the account management provider 320 mayprovide access to, and allow communications between, various networkentities using, for example, a token or other access key.

Client application 330 may be a software or hardware applicationresiding and operating on a platform, such as a computer, mobileterminal, or the like, that may be used to interact with the service300. In some embodiments, the client application 330 may reside andoperate on a platform, such as the apparatus 200, the user platform 245,or the like. The client application may be downloaded to and/orinstalled on the platform. In some embodiments, the client application330 may be specifically tailored to interact with the service 300, thatis, client application 330 may be a dedicated application. Via theclient application 330, the platform, and the user of the platform, mayinteract with the service 300 to send, receive, and/or modify, as wellas synchronize, content, such as selections of privacy options, betweenthe client application 330 and the service 300. The client application330 may facilitate the gathering and storage of content for subsequenttransmission to the service 300.

Similar to the client application 330, the client web browserapplication 310 may be a software or hardware application residing andoperating on a platform, such as a computer, mobile terminal, or thelike, that may be used to interact with the service 300. In this regard,the client web browser application 310 may be a generic networkcommunication application for interacting with various network entities,including the service 300. In some embodiments, the client web browserapplication 310 may reside and operate on the apparatus 200, the userplatform 245, or the like. Via the client web browser application 310, aplatform, and the user of the platform, may interact with the service300 to send, receive, and/or modify, as well as synchronize, data, suchas selections of privacy options, between the client web browserapplication 310 and the service 300. The client web browser application310 may facilitate the gathering and storage of selections of privacyoptions and other data for subsequent transmission to the service 300.

Referring back to FIG. 2 and apparatus 200, the functionality andconfiguration of the apparatus 200 will be described in further detailwith respect to various exemplary embodiments of the present invention.In this regard, the privacy option generator 230 of apparatus 200 may beconfigured to define one or more privacy options. Each privacy optionmay be associated with providing members of one or more groupsassociated with a respective privacy option access to content. Further,associations between the members of the one or more groups may beaccessible via an online service.

The groups associated with a privacy option may be any collection ofcontacts, users, or members. In some exemplary embodiments, a group maybe defined by a user. In this regard, the user may use a contacts listor other collection of entities and designate the members of a group.For example, a user may browse through a contacts list and define afamily group, a co-workers group, a neighborhood group, or the like. Thegroups may be defined on, for example, user platform 245, andtransferred to apparatus 200 and privacy option generator 203 forsubsequent utilization in defining privacy options.

Further, groups for use in defining privacy options may be taken fromexisting groups defined with respect to the user on various onlineservices, such as social networking websites. Friends and/or otherrelationship groups may be defined on a website, such as a socialnetworking website. As such, the privacy option generator 230 may beconfigured to receive and utilize these groups when defining a privacyoption. Where groups are taken from social networking websites and thelike, a user may provide a login and/or password for the those sites,and the privacy option generator 230 may be configured to retrieve thegroup information from those sites and, in some exemplary embodiments,store the group information on, for example, memory device 210. Forexample, such groups may be retrieved from online service 240.

Further in this regard, groups may be associated with a particular user.As such, different users of an online service implementing privacymanagement according to various embodiments of the present invention mayhave differing groups, differing group types, and differing numbers ofmembers of various groups. Accordingly, privacy options may bespecifically defined with respect to an individual user or user account,rather than utilizing generic privacy options that are applied to allusers.

In some exemplary embodiments, the size of the various groups may beutilized to define the privacy options. In this regard, in someexemplary embodiments, each privacy option may have a privacy levelrelative to the other privacy options. The relative privacy level may bebased at least in part upon the number of members of the one or moregroups associated with the privacy option. For example, a first privacyoption may be associated with a family group that includes five members,while a second privacy option may be associated with the family groupand a social networking group that has one hundred members. As a result,the first privacy option may be considered to have more privacy (due tobeing associated with less group members) and as such a relative privacylevel may indicate that the first privacy option offers more privacythan the second privacy option.

In some exemplary embodiments, the privacy option generator 230 may beconfigured to define each relatively less private privacy option byassociating the next defined privacy option with all of the groupsassociated with the previously defined privacy options plus the groupwith next greatest number of members. In this regard, consider theexemplary privacy option definition scenario of FIG. 4. The exemplaryscenario includes three groups in the collection of available groups400. The groups comprise a family group 410 having five members, afriends group 420 having twenty members, and an online social networkinggroup 430 having 100 members. These groups may be used to define threeprivacy options, namely, the first privacy option 440, the secondprivacy option 450, and the third privacy option 460.

In this regard, according to various exemplary embodiments, the firstprivacy option may be defined by identifying the group having the leastnumber of members and associating that group with the first privacyoption. As such, the family group 410, having five members, may beassociated with the first privacy option 440. Then, to define the secondprivacy option 450, all the groups associated with the previouslydefined privacy options can be associated with the second privacy option450. As such, family group 410 may be associated with the second privacyoption 450. Then, a group having the next highest number of members canbe identified and associated with the second privacy option 450. Assuch, the friends group 420, having twenty members can be identified andassociated with the second privacy option 450. Subsequently, the thirdprivacy option 460 may be defined by first associating the third privacyoption 460 with all the groups associated with the previously definedprivacy options. Accordingly, the family group 410 and the friends group420 may be associated with the third privacy option 460. Additionally, agroup having the next highest number of members can be identified andassociated with the third privacy option 460. As such, the online socialnetworking group 430 may be associated with the third privacy option.

While the description with respect to FIG. 4 describes one manner ofdefining group associations with privacy options, other manners ormethods are contemplated which may be implemented to achieve the same orsimilar results. Accordingly, with respect to the results, in someexemplary embodiments, the privacy option generator 230 may beconfigured to define each privacy option such that no two privacyoptions are associated with all of the same groups. Further, eachprivacy option may be associated with a group having a largest groupsize for that privacy option. Further, in consideration of the number ofmembers in the largest sized group associated with a given privacyoption, all other available groups having less than the number ofmembers in the respective largest sized group may be associated with thegiven privacy option.

Additionally, the privacy option generator 230 of apparatus 200 may beconfigured to order the privacy options. In this regard, the order of aprivacy option in the ordering of privacy options may be indicative of arelative privacy level of the privacy option with respect to the otherprivacy options. Further, in some exemplary embodiments, the privacyoption generator 230 may be configured to order the privacy optionsbased at least in part on the number of members in the one or moregroups associated with the privacy options.

The privacy option selector 232 may be configured to access one or moreprivacy options. In this regard, each privacy option may be configuredto provide members of one or more groups access to content. Further, theprivacy option selector may be configured to access defined privacyoptions as describe above. Further, in some exemplary embodiments, theprivacy option selector 232 may be configured to access privacy optionsthat have been previously defined and/or ordered, as described above.

The privacy option selector 232 of apparatus 200 may be configured toprovide for selection of a privacy option. In some exemplaryembodiments, a privacy option may be selected in association withcontent. In this regard, the content may be objects such as media files(e.g., images, videos, audio content, etc,), collections of content(e.g., albums, channels, etc.), personally defined landmark and routinginformation, current location information, or the like. Content may alsoinclude applications that may be used to interact with various data,such applications may include map and location applications (e.g.,applications that may indicate the current or past location of a user),music player applications, media sharing applications, and the like.Accordingly, a selection of a privacy option may be associated with asingle content item (e.g., one image or one application), groups ofcontent items, (e.g., all images or select images), sub-items associatedwith a content item (e.g., aspects of an application), or a privacyoption selection may be a global selection that may be associated withall content of a user. Additionally or alternatively, content mayinclude associated with or otherwise related to a service such that theselection of a privacy option may be associated with a service such thatthe privacy option is applied to all content associated with orotherwise related to the service.

Further, the privacy option selector 232 may be configured to providefor the presentation of representations of the privacy options. Therepresentations of the privacy options may be presented to facilitateselection of a privacy option. Further, the representations of theprivacy options may be presented in a user interface of a settings page,or the representations of the privacy options may be presented with thepresentation of the associated content item. Presenting therepresentations of the privacy options together with the associated thecontent item, wherever the content item appears, may facilitateefficient modification of a selection of a privacy option.

Additionally, the representations of the privacy options may bepresented on a privacy line. In this regard, the arrangement of therepresentations of the privacy options along the privacy line may bebased at least in part on the ordering of the one or more privacyoptions. Further, in some exemplary embodiments, privacy option selector232 may be configured to provide for selection of the privacy option byallowing for the movement of a slider relative to the privacy line to adesired representation of a privacy option.

In this regard, FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary user interface includinga slider tool for privacy management according to various exemplaryembodiments of the present invention. The exemplary user interface ofFIG. 5 may be implemented by user interface 215, and, further, aselection of a privacy option may be received by the user interface 215and/or the processor 205. With respect to the exemplary user interfaceof FIG. 5, a slider tool 500 is provided. The slider tool 500 isconfigured to facilitate the selection of a privacy option with respectto an example content item. Accordingly, the slider tool 500 includes alabel 502 describing the target content, namely, content X. Further, theslider tool 500 may include a privacy line 501 where movement along theprivacy line 501 from left to right indicates a lesser privacy level forprivacy options. Accordingly, the privacy options may be defined, andpossibly ordered, as described above, and presented on the privacy line501.

The defined privacy options included in slider tool 500 are depicted byprivacy option representations. The privacy option representations mayinclude an absolute privacy option representation 504, a family privacyoption representation 506, a social network A privacy optionrepresentation 512, a social network B privacy option representation514, and an all groups privacy option representation 516. Each privacyoption representation may also include a presentation of the number ofgroup members associated with an underlying privacy group. In someexemplary embodiments, the number of total members of all groupsassociated with the privacy option may be presented. In otherembodiments, the incremental number of group members over the lowerordered privacy option may be presented. Further, a privacy optionrepresentation may be presented on the privacy line 501 to scale, orrelatively to scale, based at least in part on the number of groupmembers associated with the underlying privacy option. As such, familyprivacy option representation 506 may be presented closer to the friendsprivacy option representation 508 (due to a 58 member difference), thanthe friends privacy option representation 508 is to the social network Aprivacy option representation 210 (due to 140 member difference).

Further, selection of the absolute privacy option representation 504 mayprovide maximum privacy since no other users may be permitted to accesscontent X. Accordingly, selection of the all groups privacy optionrepresentation 516 may make content X public, or may allow members ofall groups to have access to context X providing the lowest level ofprivacy. Selection of the family privacy option representation 506,friends privacy option representation 508, social network A privacyoption representation 512, or social network B privacy optionrepresentation 514 may provide relatively intermediate levels ofprivacy.

According to various exemplary embodiments, slider 510 may be moved to adesired privacy option representation to select the representation andthe underlying privacy option. Slider 510 may be moved using, forexample, arrow or other movement keys of a keypad, by clicking with amouse and dragging the slider 510 to a desired location, or the like.

The user interface of FIG. 5 also includes a sub-item privacy managementcontainer 518. In some exemplary embodiments the sub-item privacymanagement container 518 may be accessible by operating theexpand/collapse button 520. With respect to the sub-item privacymanagement container 518, content X may include various aspects that mayallow for privacy management at a sub-item level. As such, sub-itemprivacy management container 518 may include labels 522, 526 for thesub-items, namely, sub-item X and sub-item Y, respectively. Further,selections of privacy options with respect to the sub-items may also beprovided for by privacy option selector 232. In this regard, sliders 524and 528 may be utilized similar to slider 510 to select a privacy optionand/or a representation of a privacy option.

Although exemplary privacy options are depicted in the embodiments ofFIG. 5, other privacy options may be utilized in addition to or insteadof those illustrated. For example, the privacy options presented alongthe privacy line may be various access networks, such as BT, WLAN, localarea network (LAN), home network (e.g., WLAN or LAN), GSM, UMTS, etc.Since each access network is configured to communicate with potentiallydifferent groups, the selection of a particular access networkcorrespondingly selects a privacy option by permitting sharing withmembers of the selected access network without necessarily permittingsharing with members of unselected larger access networks. By way ofexample, the selection of the BT privacy option may restrict the sharingto a relatively small group that is nearby, while the selection of theGSM privacy option or the privacy option associated with a corporate LANmay permit sharing with a much larger group.

Referring again to apparatus 200 of FIG. 2, the processor 205 may beconfigured to share the content in response to a request for content bya member of the one or more groups associated with the selected privacyoption. Such sharing may occur within an online service such as theonline service 240, the service 300, or a service implemented by theapparatus 200. In this regard, a user that is a member of a groupassociated with a selected privacy option may request access to contentassociated with privacy option via, for example, user platform 245.Since the user is a member of a group associated with a selected privacyoption, the user may have access to the content.

FIGS. 6 and 7 are flowcharts of a system, method, and program productaccording to exemplary embodiments of the invention. It will beunderstood that each block, step, or operation of the flowcharts, andcombinations of blocks, steps or operations in the flowcharts, can beimplemented by various means, such as hardware, firmware, and/orsoftware including one or more computer program code instructions,program instructions, or executable program code instructions. Forexample, one or more of the procedures described above may be embodiedby computer program code instructions. In this regard, the computerprogram instructions which embody the procedures described above may bestored by a memory device of the apparatus and executed by a processorin the apparatus. As will be appreciated, any such computer programinstructions may be loaded onto a computer or other programmableapparatus (e.g., hardware such as processor 205 or controller 20) toproduce a machine, such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer or other programmable apparatus create means for implementingthe functions specified in the flowcharts block(s), step(s), oroperation(s). These computer program instructions may also be stored ina computer-readable memory that can direct a computer, a processor, orother programmable apparatus to function in a particular manner, suchthat the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce anarticle of manufacture including instruction means which implement thefunction specified in the flowcharts block(s), step(s), or operation(s).The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer,processor, or other programmable apparatus to cause a series ofoperational steps to be performed on the computer, processor, or otherprogrammable apparatus to produce a computer-implemented process suchthat the instructions which execute on the computer, processor, or otherprogrammable apparatus provide steps for implementing the functionsspecified in the flowcharts block(s), step(s), or operation(s).

Accordingly, blocks, steps, or operations of the flowcharts supportcombinations of means for performing the specified functions,combinations of steps for performing the specified functions and programinstruction means for performing the specified functions. It will alsobe understood that one or more blocks, steps, or operations of theflowcharts, and combinations of blocks, steps, or operations in theflowcharts, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-basedcomputer systems which perform the specified functions or steps, orcombinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.

In this regard, one exemplary embodiment of a method for privacymanagement as illustrated in FIG. 6 may include accessing one or moreprivacy options at 600. Each privacy option may be configured to providemembers of one or more groups associated with a respective privacyoption access to content. Further, associations between the members andthe one or more groups may be accessible via an online service.

Additionally, in some exemplary embodiments, the defined privacy optionsmay be accessed. In this regard, the defined privacy options may eachinclude or otherwise be associated with a largest sized group, that is,for each privacy option, at least one of the associated groups is thelargest relative to the other groups associated with the same privacyoption. Further, according to some exemplary embodiments, no two privacyoptions may have the same largest sized group.

In some exemplary embodiments of the method of FIG. 6, providing forselection of a privacy option may be included at 610. In this regard,the selection of the privacy option may be associated the content.

Further, FIG. 7 depicts a flowchart describing another exemplaryembodiment of the present invention. The method may include accessingone or more privacy options at 700. Each privacy option may beconfigured to provide members of one or more groups associated with arespective privacy option access to content. Further, associationsbetween the members and the one or more groups may be accessible via anonline service.

Additionally, the method may include ordering the privacy options at710. In this regard, the position of a privacy option within theordering of privacy options may be indicative of a relative privacylevel associated with the privacy option. Additionally, oralternatively, the ordering of a privacy option may be based at least inpart on the on a number of members in the one or more groups associatedwith the privacy option. In some exemplary embodiments, accessing theone or more privacy options at 700 may include accessing one or moreordered privacy options.

Further, in some exemplary embodiments, of the method of FIG. 7, themethod may include providing for presentation of representations of theprivacy options at 720. The representations of the privacy options maybe presented on a privacy line. Further, the arrangement of therepresentations of the privacy options along the privacy line beingbased at least in part on the ordering of the privacy options.

In some exemplary embodiments of the method of FIG. 7, providing forselection of a privacy option may be included at 730. In this regard,the selection of the privacy option may be associated with content.Further, in some exemplary embodiments, providing for selection of aprivacy option may include providing for selection of a privacy optionby allowing for movement of a slider relative to a privacy line to adesired representation of a privacy option. Alternatively, the selectionof a privacy option may be provided or discerned from a service usedand/or site accessed by a user with the relative privacy then bedepicted upon the privacy line to illustrate for the user the relativedegree of privacy afforded by the service of the site. By way ofexample, a user may access the webpage of a bank or other financialinstitution. If not otherwise known to or predefined by the privacyoption generator 230, the bank or other financial institution, eithervia the webpage or otherwise, may provide the privacy option generatorwith an indication of the privacy afforded to content that is shared viathe website, e.g., a relatively high level of privacy. A privacy linemay then be displayed which depicts the service, site and/or the like,such as by name, at the appropriate relative position along thecontinuum of privacy so as to visually represent to the user therelative privacy that is provided.

Additionally, in some exemplary embodiments, the method of FIG. 7 mayalso include sharing content at 740. In this regard, content may beshared in response to a member of the one or more groups associated withthe selected privacy option requesting the content.

Many modifications and other embodiments of the inventions set forthherein will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which theseinventions pertain having the benefit of the teachings presented in theforegoing descriptions and the associated drawings. Therefore, it is tobe understood that the inventions are not to be limited to the specificembodiments disclosed and that modifications and other embodiments areintended to be included within the scope of the appended claims.Moreover, although the foregoing descriptions and the associateddrawings describe exemplary embodiments in the context of certainexemplary combinations of elements and/or functions, it should beappreciated that different combinations of elements and/or functions maybe provided by alternative embodiments without departing from the scopeof the appended claims. In this regard, for example, differentcombinations of elements and/or functions other than those explicitlydescribed above are also contemplated as may be set forth in some of theappended claims. Although specific terms are employed herein, they areused in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes oflimitation.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of controlling access to user contentstored in a networked system including a privacy management apparatus,comprising: associating each of a plurality of privacy options with adifferent one of a plurality of network access types, the plurality ofprivacy options defined as specific to a user; operating the privacymanagement apparatus to order the plurality of privacy options accordingto a relative privacy level among the network access types; presenting,to the user at a user interface of a network device, representations ofthe plurality of privacy options on a privacy line ordered according totheir relative privacy levels; responsive to a selection input from theuser via the user interface, associating a selected one of the privacyoptions and all privacy options of a higher relative privacy level thanthe selected privacy option with a content item; determining, inresponse to a request for access to the content item from a requestingparty, whether the requesting party is a member of a network access typeassociated with a privacy option associated with that content item; andthen, providing for sharing the content item with the requesting partyin response to determining that the requesting party is a member of anetwork access type associated with a privacy option associated withthat content item; wherein the plurality of network access typescomprise two or more of a wireless personal area network, a wirelesslocal area network, a local area network, and a mobile network.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the step of operating the privacy managementapparatus orders the plurality of privacy options also according to acriterion indicative of relative privacy selected from the groupconsisting of: number of members in one or more groups associated witheach privacy option; and range of the network access type associatedwith each privacy option.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the userinterface comprises a slider movable along the privacy line among therepresentations of the plurality of privacy options on the privacy line.4. The method of claim 2, wherein the criterion comprises the number ofmembers in the largest sized group associated with each privacy option;and wherein each of the plurality of privacy options has a largest sizedgroup, with no two privacy options having the same largest sized group.5. The method of claim 1, further comprising: responsive to anadditional input from the user, associating a selected one of theplurality of privacy options to a sub-item of the content item.
 6. Anapparatus comprising: a processor circuit; a user interface; a privacyoption generator controlled by the processor circuit and configured to:associate each of a plurality of privacy options with a different one ofa plurality of network access types, the plurality of privacy optionsdefined as specific to a user; and order the plurality of privacyoptions according to a relative privacy level among the network accesstypes; and a privacy option selector controlled by the processor circuitand configured to: present, to the user at the user interface,representations of the plurality of privacy options on a privacy lineordered according to their relative privacy levels; and responsive to aninput from the user via the user interface, associate a selected one ofthe plurality of privacy options and all privacy options of a higherrelative privacy level than the selected privacy option with a contentitem; wherein the processor circuit is further configured to: determine,in response to a request for access to the content item from arequesting party, whether the requesting party is a member of a networkaccess type associated with a privacy option associated with thatcontent item; and provide for sharing the content with the requestingparty in response to determining that the requesting party is a memberof a network access type associated with a privacy option associatedwith that content item; wherein the plurality of network access typescomprise two or more of a wireless personal area network, a wirelesslocal area network, a local area network, and a mobile network.
 7. Theapparatus of claim 6, wherein the privacy option generator orders theplurality of privacy options also according to a criterion indicative ofrelative privacy selected from the group consisting of: number ofmembers in one or more groups associated with each privacy option; andrange of the network access type associated with each privacy option. 8.The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the user interface comprises a slidermoveable along the privacy line representations of the plurality ofprivacy options on the privacy line.
 9. The apparatus of claim 7,wherein the criterion comprises the number of members in the largestsized group associated with each privacy option; and wherein each of theplurality of privacy options has a largest sized group, with no twoprivacy options having the same largest sized group.
 10. The apparatusof claim 6, wherein the privacy option selector is further configuredto, responsive to an additional input from the user, associate aselected one of the plurality of privacy options to a sub-item of thecontent item.
 11. A non-transitory computer-readable storage mediumhaving executable computer-readable program code instructions storedtherein, the computer-readable program code instructions comprising:first program code instructions configured to: associate each of aplurality of privacy options with a different one of a plurality ofnetwork access types, the plurality of privacy options defined asspecific to a user; and order the plurality of privacy options accordingto a relative privacy level among the network access types; secondprogram code instructions configured to: present, to the user at a userinterface, representations of the plurality of privacy options on aprivacy line ordered according to their relative privacy levels; andresponsive to an input from the user via the user interface, associate aselected one of the plurality of privacy options and all privacy optionsof a higher relative privacy level than the selected privacy option witha content item; and third program code instructions configured to:determine, in response to a request for access to the content item froma requesting party, whether the requesting party is a member of anetwork access type associated with a privacy option associated withthat content item; and provide for sharing the content with therequesting party in response to determining that the requesting party isa member of a network access type associated with a privacy optionassociated with the selected privacy option; wherein the plurality ofnetwork access types comprise two or more of a wireless personal areanetwork, a wireless local area network, a local area network, and amobile network.
 12. The storage medium of claim 11, wherein the secondprogram code instructions order the plurality of privacy options alsoaccording to a criterion indicative of relative privacy selected fromthe group consisting of: number of members in one or more groupsassociated with each privacy option; and range of the network accesstype associated with each privacy option.
 13. The storage medium ofclaim 12, wherein the criterion comprises the number of members in thelargest sized group associated with each privacy option; and wherein thesecond program code instructions are further configured to receive theinput from the user as movement of a slider relative to the privacy lineto a desired representation of a privacy option.
 14. The storage mediumof claim 11, wherein the second program code instructions are furtherconfigured to, responsive to an additional input from the user,associate a selected one of the plurality of privacy options to asub-item of the content item.